Grain door for freight cars



Nov. 10, 1925.

J. A. SCHMITZ E1' AL.

GRAIN Doon Fon FREIGHT cms Filed July 13 1923 n o a o o e Patented Non'.iQ,

Uni-reo :erases miser JOSEPH A. scnrvrr'rz, on estense; Ann anni E.sonos-Leie., oF nwinsroii, i;tLINoIs;

GRAJN DOOR FOR FBELGHT GARS.

Application filed July .13,

.Grain Doors for Freight Gai-55, o-i' which the `iiolkming is .asneciiicaton.

Oui invention relates to ,a device which wohn-ve invented fior foaming aclosure :for the door opening oi'. boi; cars nd is partiouiarly adaptedfor use in. shipping grain. It is` now` the `practice .to einpiogsy forthis 'purpose standard door sections made ac cordiale to Vvariousspeciiications .adopted by d: erlernt railroad companies., these doorsbeing supplied to shippers lby the railroads. v'The .sections allieuniformly seven *feet in length .and .twenty inches in width, and arezlireqnentl-y consti-noted of two thicknesses .off

jlzulnber making broke-n joints, the boards .on one side :being shooterthan the other to provide Efor n Across-piece oit .the same thick nessas theother boards at each end, these cizossepieoes being .designed tobe placed 'fracing the 'ins-1de foi' the ear vwhen the section is"1nuse, as in the typical door illustrated in the draining. Asorzdiriarisli7 used, these door sections are simply nailed across thedoor opening, one above another-,from thizee 4to *five sections beingemployed, sometimes three sections being used, as illustrated, .andetten fou-r, and less il'requently ve.

.lin `unloading cars thus loaded with grain, it is the common practiceto reinotfe .the top door first; then the next loWerl, etc.,insucofession, 'as the grain level is 'lowered in the As `.the grain iscompacted by the jar- `ring Ato `which' the car is subjected `in`.transponto/tion, particularly the :lower portion of the grain, iit isby no means oasiT matter 1to1rerr1..o-ve fthe doors. s :is done, when a.car has been properly loaded., .by 'forcing -Atilie .ends o''fiiliedoor finiva-nelly zby heavy y bars aga" st #the ipressune ofi ovunseat@the v [a s then -leifoiper The .secoi lf. om s osuoililyespecial y" Sonie fe .i

osare CBSSaJ.

g gli "enioadnglireppers i923; sei-iai No. 651,236.

.any case doors ,are liable .to be subjected .to Very rough tneatrnentin removing them., an are neqpeently so broken or darn-aged as to be nollonger serviceable.

VSince the. .door sections are removed .one by one., the ,loW. oi'V the.grain proceeds by stages., and .as a number of cars, frequently :tiveol' sin, are simultaneously unloaded at one y.long platform, aninterruption o'i' the unloading operation, due, it may be to iin-.p'rope'r closure of .one of the cars, results ind-slay toall theothers. 'l

'Itisthe'object of' Jour 'invention to aclitate the.unloading cig-rainand prevent damage *to standard grain door sections, such .as thoseabove mentioned, by providing` a destrnctib'le and replaceable bottoniclos! ure member and associated securing and bracing means adapted to beused in connection iaith the standard 4dooil sections mentioned, so thatan opening .can be readily made along :thetloor line of the car,` and.the door sections taken down as soon the rpressure is relieved andwhile-the car is vbeing emptied iVilth this .object in yiew We havedevised and invented `the' car door .closure hereinafter more iirllydescribed,

and our invention resides in theconstruction Lsection on la somewhatlarger' scale, 4showing the manner in Which the grain opening `isinade'at :the bottoin of the closure; Figs. t and 5 are `vertical andhorizontal sections respectively showing the means for securing .thealpperlend of `the Wrench bar; Fig. 6 a frag'inentary 'horizontalsection adjacent the lower end ort the Wrench Lbar; Fig. 7 a:penspec'tive :View .of an alternative securing means; and lT-ilg. a.fragmentaryi-'ieiticai section adjacent fthe lower end `of the Wrenchbar, showing the use of a cleatfvtor restrain outward incitement-off thebe. i

.ilse sain r "terence .characters indicate the .sameipants in'hegunesoif :the dnawifng. iienieznber ``,ozfitl'ae car door closure to`immt'ron :more articolari-y re- -s it `de.st-fractibie.-.elo'solm'mein'.-

a ,aw spasm orare d berl, which is preferably formed of a thin andsomewhat brittle board of suitable widthV-say between four and twelveinches wide and preferably about eight inches,`

5 thouglrthis may vary somewhat. The ends of this board are nailedlightly to the posts at the sides oi the door'opening, on the inside ofthe car. Above this are nailed the i as shown, by a bolt 3 engaged by anut on the inside of the closureand provided with `a wide washer aordingva substantial bear ing. Secured to the lower end of the bar is a stripof metal .4 which in applying the "f5 closure is carried inside the carand nailed to the car floor. A U-shaped staple a, rounded "between itsprongs, is preferably employed asl the fastening means for se` curingthe strip 4 to the bar, to provide for 30 tsready` detachment. The strip`may con-' sist of a piece of box strapping of suitable weight(say-about `18 gauge), though wire may be employed if desired;` Towardsthe upper end of the post, opposite the joint i/between the uppertwodoor sections, a strip of metal 5, which may be formed of the Y samematerial as the strip it, is secured to the bnr, and `in applying theclosure the free ends of this strip are` twisted and carried i0 insidethe closure between the doorV sections, and preferably both ends bentupwardlyy and secured to the upper section, as shown VniFigs. l and. 2,or it desired, one end bent downwardly Vand nailed `to the. section Band the other'upwardly and nailed to the sesct1on C, as shown in Figs.l-and 5. It

desired the member 5 may be formed of wire, 'though a fiat piece of bonstrapping is more readily applied.

Then the grain is to be unloaded the Strip 5 is eut orbroken andtliestaple Le witlr drawnby a suitable tool, and the bar `2 emy ployed`as a wrench bar to break away the center' portion Lof the closuremember. In`

thismanner an opening is provided at the bottom of theV closure throughwhich the grain may iow, and as the grain is removed the upper, `middleand lower sections are taken down in order.

30 It desired, ,the bar n y a may later heY provided with a newl closuremember l and new securing members 4 and 5 for further use.

In case thegloor of the box loar does not have a metalfprotecting plateor strip at rsuch .as indicate by the reference numeral G in Figs. 2 and3, the strip l may be dispensed with and a cleat 7, nailed to the floor,(see Fig. 8) be employed to resist outward pressure on the lower part ofthe bar 2.

In Figure 7 we have illustrated an alternative method of securing theupper end of the bar 2, consisting of an angular stift' metal bracketplate 9 fastened to the upper end of said bar and also firmly secured tothe upper door section byv nails or screws.

Our invention not only has the advantage of providing a ready means foreffecting an opening' for the grain at the level of the floor of thecar, but also equalizes and dis tributes the .strain on the doorsections, and keeps them` in vertical alignment. The lowermost section,it may be explained, does not sustain as `great internal pressure as themiddle one, since the lower stratum of grain rests on the car door, andis not subject to true tluid pressure in a lateral direction.` The upperstratum of grain, oppo-` site the door section C, likewise sustains lesspressure thanthe stratum opposite the sec tion B, though, for the reasonthat the depth of the grain is less. The middle section (or sections, ifmore than three are employed) therefore sustains the greatest pressure,and i obviously this is in part communicated by the bar` to the upperand lower sections and the anchorage to the car floor. Ordi-v narilythere will be a slight amount of slack in the bottom securing `strip 4,so that part of the outward pressure of the grain will besustained bythe lower door section. This is of advantage in preventing undue strainonthe middle section and an unequal deformation of the door sections,and 1in use they .will retain their original shape much longer.

Theprovision of the destructible sectionl l moreover increases theheight of the closure by an amount equal to its width, and thereforeincreases the carrying capacity of `the car to that extent.

lVe claim:

l. A car closure comprising horizontal door sections, `a lowerdestructible closure member, and an exterior bar member, said bar memberheinfr secured to an upper door `cured to `said destructible member andanising horizontal ,chored to the car floor, said bar being i equippednear` its upperend opposite a joint between the door sections with astrap passing between said sections and anchored to the nupper section.

car closure comprising horizontal I3@ 10Q? sections, a lowerdestruotible closure leerbee sure member and flexibly secured to the carfloor and removably secured to an upper door section, whereby the upperend oi' said bar may be released and the bar swung outward to pry thedestructible member loose.

5. In a closure for gra-in car door openings, a lower member adapted toreadily yield outwardly when unsupported intermediate its ends, a leverbar firmly secured to said member and adapted to extend upwardlytherefrom, means for yieldingly securing the upper end of the leveragainst the -closurc member, and means located on the loor of theopening preventing thev direct outward movement oi the lever butpermitting it to swing, whereby when the upper n end of the lever isreleased it may be swung outward and draw with it said lower 1nem" berof the door closure. i ,Y

6. In a grain door ,of the class described,

a yielding lower member, a bar secured t0 i said member near the vupperedge thereof, means flexibly securing the lower end of the bar to thefloor of the opening in the car, and means for 4releasably securing theupper end of the lever against the Closure member.

7. In a grain ear door closure, a lowermostl member adapted to readilyyield to an outward strain when unsupported intermediate its ends, alever bar secured to saidl member adjacent its upper edge, a strapextending under said lower member and attached to the'car ioor withinthey opening ,and :flexibly connecting the lever to the oark floor, andreleasable means for holding the upper end of the lever in position, theconstruction beingsueh that when the upper fend ot the lever 'isreleased and drawnv outward said lower member swings outward with thelever. Y

JOSEPI-IyA. SCHMITZ. ADYN E. SCHUYLER.

